Lula, Son of Brazil

The early life of Brazilian leader Luis "Lula" Inácio de Silva (Rui Ricardo Diaz) is limned in Fábio Barreto's admiring biopic. Following his infidelity, de Silva's father, Aristides (Milhem Cortaz), leaves for São Paulo, after which his mother, Lindu (Glória Pires), gives birth to Lula, who leaves country life behind when the family rejoins Aristides in the 1950s. Surly, booze-sodden Aristides is not pleased having all eight children under his roof, so Lindu and the kids eventually strike out on their own (in time, Lindu will prove to be Lula's greatest supporter). Although an excellent student, Lula trains as a machinist—a more practical goal than college—but the profession offers just as much of an education when the steelworkers go on strike and Brazil falls to military rule, leading to deadly violence (Lula also loses a finger to the lathe). Work ebbs and flows as the country suffers widespread unemployment in the 1960s, during which Lula goes on to become a union president and husband, until tragedy claims his wife. In the aftermath, the union serves as Lula's family, although clashes with the police continue into the 1970s, at which point Lula does time for his left-wing stance. The film stops short of Lula's entrance into politics: he founded the Labor Party in 1980 and ascended to the presidency, for two terms, starting in 2003. Non-Brazilians might not pick up on all the political subtleties in the film, but Barreto avoids many of the clichés that plague most biopics, and Diaz turns in a consistently strong, sympathetic performance. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)